1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an electrolyte membrane for a lithium battery, a lithium battery using the electrolyte membrane, and a method of preparing the electrolyte membrane. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an electrolyte membrane for a lithium battery that has good lithium ion conductivity and is structurally stable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithium secondary batteries are rechargeable at high rates and have energy densities that are about three times higher than conventional lead storage batteries, nickel-cadmium (“Ni—Cd”) batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, or nickel-zinc batteries.
According the type of electrolyte, lithium secondary batteries may be classified as either a liquid electrolyte battery or a polymer electrolyte battery. In general, batteries using liquid electrolytes are called lithium ion batteries, and batteries using polymer electrolytes are called lithium polymer batteries.
Safety issues with lithium ion batteries, such as a risk of fire or explosion caused by an organic solvent of the liquid electrolyte, have led to a growing desire to use polymer electrolytes.
However, it is currently impractical to use a polymer electrolyte in a lithium ion battery because currently available polymer electrolytes have a lithium ion conductivity of 10−5 Siemens per centimeter (“S/cm”) or less.
A liquid electrolyte impregnated in a polymer gel may provide a lithium ion conductivity of about 10−3/cm. However, if a degree of hardness of the polymer gel is increased to provide sufficient structural stability, the lithium ion conductivity may decrease by about 10 to 100 times. Thus there remains a need for an improved electrolyte membrane that provides improved lithium ion conductivity and safety.